Letter: Students are not to blame for poor written English

AS AN academic proof-reader, I consider myself to be as sensitive to 'verbal ugliness' as Michael Dummett ('The language is languishing', 30 May), but I find it surprising that he should single out for particular scorn his own students sitting their final university examinations.

From my recent experience of Oxford finals I can say that, with approximately 45 minutes' writing time per essay, 'grabbing the first word or phrase that comes to mind' is probably about the best one can hope for in the frantic attempt to demonstrate three years' acquired knowledge in three hours.

Surely Professor Dummett could have found better examples of linguistic inelegance, written in far less extenuating circumstances. Even a casual examination of recent academic books shows that really good writing is rare. More often the writing is ugly and jargon-ridden, and interesting ideas are obscured by inept turns of phrase.

Jacqueline Dias

St Albans, Hertfordshire